


Truth

by ThatSnarkyDragon



Series: Truth [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Part One of MANY, Timeline Shenanigans, Trans Female Character, and im just now getting up the nerve to post it, ed goes to high school, ed shows up in our world, ive been working on this fic for 6 years, science and alchemy, the other characters will be in book 2 dont worry, truth shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-06-28 13:26:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15708141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatSnarkyDragon/pseuds/ThatSnarkyDragon
Summary: When I woke up this morning, I didn't expect to hit someone with my car, kidnap him, and find out he's from another dimension. I also didn't expect to promise to help him get home. I guess it's just one of those days.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on, rewriting, and deleting this story on and off for six years. I figured it's about time I bite the bullet and post it.

Breath in.  _ I am…  _ Breath out.  _ calm… _ Breath in.  _ I am…  _ Breath out.  _ In control…  _

As I lied to myself, trying to avoid completely falling into a full blown panic attack, I paced around the guy who had just appeared out of nowhere in front of my car. Fortunately for my pride, there was no one around to see me freaking out. Unfortunately for literally everything else, there was no one around to help. 

“Okay… I should call 911?” I muttered to myself as I continued wearing a path into the asphalt. “Wait – is this guy injured? Can I move him to check?” I stopped, realizing I hadn’t even checked if the guy was breathing.

_ Check a pulse, idiot, _ shouted the small part of my mind that was holding back from the panic. Heeding its advice, I knelt down next to him and tried to find his pulse somewhere on his neck. I could easily find it on myself, but I’d never bothered trying to try on someone else. It hadn’t exactly come up in the past, either. Most days, people don’t pop out of thin air in front of my car. 

Luckily, I was able to find what I hoped was a pulse. I didn’t really know what to look for, but he didn’t seem dead. Now that I was actually observing, I also noticed that he was breathing – more evidence in favor of  _ not dead. _ Which was probably best. 

“Okay… not dead,” I thought aloud, trying to figure out what to do next. Besides hiding in back in my car for a nice nervous breakdown. 

Eventually I decided that it was probably a good idea to see if I knew who this guy was. If it was someone like Voldemort or Donald Trump, my choice would get a lot easier – the only remaining option being to flee and leave them in the middle of the road for someone else to run over. I wasn’t sure what I would do if it  _ wasn’t _ an evil reptile man, but finding out was a good first step, I thought. 

It took a bit more effort than I expected to turn the guy onto his back (though I’m not sure how much effort I did expect it to take), but I managed to flip him over and get a good look at his face. 

And that is when I stopped breathing.

Fortunately, I started breathing again, but it took a bit. I also didn’t scream – another point in my favor. As I was waiting to start breathing again, I tried to process what I was seeing. 

His shoulder – that was the first thing I noticed. There was something odd about the arm that had previously been under his body, it was small, almost frail compared to the rest of him, and a thick pink scar ran around the circumference of his shoulder. Bits of metal stuck out around it (which couldn’t possibly be comfortable), and the scar branched off and ran below his collarbone to connect to another metal piece. If I had been more cognizant, I probably would have winced at how painful that looked, but instead, my heart stopped along with my breath as I saw his face. 

It was eerily familiar, and a small part of my said there was  _ no way _ that was who I thought it was. The rest of my mind, either because I really, really wanted my fanfic dreams to come true or because I was depriving my body of oxygen, insisted that there was  _ no way  _ that it  _ wasn’t _ who I thought it was. Once my heart started again, and I realized I wasn’t breathing, I took a huge breath and closed my eyes. 

“No way. No way.”

His hair was long and braided, though it was coming undone. And the color – I’d never seen hair naturally that color, almost like gold. Long bangs hung in his face, a fringe over his closed eyes (with ridiculously long eyelashes,  _ fuck _ ) and the barely scabbed-over cuts on his cheeks. Even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew somehow (or maybe I just hoped ridiculously that I knew) their color and shape. I could even see them in my mind, confirming what I thought. 

“Edward Elric…” I muttered. 

_ Impossible,  _ I should have thought.  _ Anime characters don’t show up in the real world. This isn’t some bad fanfic.  _ Instead, I thought it would be a good idea to kidnap him. 

In my defense, I wasn’t thinking very straight and in my panicked mind it seemed perfectly logical to drag an anime character into my car. I mean, I had to do something – I couldn’t just leave him in the middle of the road, especially considering how little people cared for the speed limit on that particular back road. And if at some point something was supposed to stop me, it would have had plenty of time – I wasn’t the strongest person in the world, and I was considerably smaller than him. 

(If I had been in my right mind, I would have thought that funny. I hadn’t realized I was  _ that  _ short.) 

It took me a small eternity and a lot of effort to move him into the back seat of my car. I tried to buckle him in (safety first), but gave up after realizing I had no hope of maneuvering him inside the car after the wrestling match it took to get his unconscious body inside. 

(Looking back, I probably looked very suspicious trying to shove an unconscious guy in the back of my car.) 

Once I managed to at least fit him inside and shut the door, I got into the driver’s seat and turned off my hazard lights. 

_ Then  _ I screamed. A little bit. Into my hoodie, so it was at least a bit muffled. 

Miraculously, the unconscious anime character in the back of my car didn’t even move, and once I got some of the panic out of my system via muffled screaming, I was able to drive the rest of the way home somewhat safely. It helped that the road was essentially empty, and that I knew the route by heart. 

It only took about five minutes to finish the drive, too, and soon I was pulling into the driveway. After a moment of hesitation, I opted to leave the guy I kidnapped in the back seat and talk to my dad first. 

Because when you kidnap someone, the first course of action is, of course, to consult your dad. 

I bolted inside and into the basement where Dad worked. 

He turned away from his computer when I came in. “Hey, kiddo. How was work?” 

I didn’t answer his question in favor of admitting my crimes. “I kidnapped Edward Elric and he’s in the back of my car and I’m not sure what to do.”

He didn’t respond for a moment, and then he laughed. “I thought you outgrew your ‘lol random’ phase a few years ago? Should I be worried?” 

I’m not sure what response I expected, but I took a deep breath and repeated “Dad, I  _ literally _ kidnapped a guy who appeared out of nowhere in front of my car who bears a striking resemblance to the main character in the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise.” Though considering my mental state, it may very well have come out something like “Literally… kidnapped… Fullmetal Alchemist.” 

Either way, Dad seemed to understand and a more serious expression came onto his face. “Okay… is he alive?”

“Think so.”

“Well that’s good. Maybe we should double check?” he suggested good-naturedly, standing up from his desk to follow me outside. 

Once we got to the car and I opened it to show him the evidence of my claim, he gave a low whistle. “Well, since the evidence is right here, I recommend pleading guilty…”

“Dad!”

He just laughed. “Well, I’m guessing you had your reasons. And you said that he was – “

“Edward Elric.” 

Dad hummed in recognition as he examined him. “I see the resemblance. And he appeared out of nowhere?” 

“Yeah. In the middle of the road. I don’t know how it happened.” Though, now, as my brain began to cool down a bit, I was beginning to try and think of some explanation. 

“I see…” Dad glanced at me as if waiting for me to shout “Psych!” or “April Fools!” or something. When I didn’t, he sighed. “Well, let’s move him inside first of all. You take his legs.” As he spoke, he hooked his arms under Edward’s and started pulling him out of the car. 

I had never been so thankful for the fact that my dad was the most mellow human being on the face of the earth. He wasn’t panicking like I was, or freaking out and calling the police on his crazy daughter who had just  _ kidnapped _ someone. He also wasn’t doubting what I was saying – at least not openly – despite how ridiculous and unbelievable my claims were. 

Once we got him out of the car, it was short work getting him inside. Two pretty small people, it seemed, could move one average-sized person with one presumably metal limb somewhat easily. (I say presumably, but I could feel something that was distinctly  _ not _ flesh as I carried him.) We managed to get him inside and onto the couch in the living room without incident (or additional felonies), and once he was set down, we both sat on the floor in front of the couch. 

“There’s metal sticking out of his arm…” Dad said, staring at it from where he sat. “How would that happen?”

“Remember in the end, how he got his arm back?” I answered, without thinking. Dad’s expression was both thoughtful and disbelieving, which, considering the circumstances, made perfect sense. I took a deep breath. “I know it’s really Edward Elric, Dad.” 

He turned to me, and I turned to Edward. 

“I…” I bit my lip for a moment, then continued. “I don’t know how I know. But I know.” And I did. I couldn’t deny it, even though it was  _ entirely impossible  _ for a  _ fictional character _ to randomly appear in the real world. Something inside of me refused to accept any other answer besides “this is Edward Elric, and that’s that.” And considering how uncertain I was about pretty much everything in my life, I was inclined to trust myself on this one. 

I wasn’t sure what Dad thought, but he still didn’t outwardly doubt me, at least. After a few short eternities of him staring at me silently, he stood up abruptly. 

“Well, I have some errands to run….” He said, his usual grin back on his face. “I trust you to watch this guy until I get back. You’re the one who kidnapped him, after all. Hopefully he’ll wake up someday before the next ice age, and we can figure out for certain if it’s Ed.”

“Dad!” I protested. “Don’t leave me alone with him!”  _ Last time I was alone with him, I kidnapped him, _ I added silently. 

“I’m sure you can handle it. If you do need help, or if he turns out to be homicidal, give me a call. Gun’s in the safe,” he added, along with a shrug, before turning around and heading out the door. 

Once he was gone, I dropped my head into my hands and screamed into my hoodie again. Dad leaving me alone with him made me nervous, but I realized after a moment that it probably meant that he believed me. Dad trusted me, but I wasn’t exactly a self-defense master – if it were some random guy, there’s no way Dad would have left me alone with him. But he did – so maybe he accepted my crazy theory?

Either that, or my Dad was getting senile very suddenly. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had this written already and was too impatient to keep an upload schedule. here ya go folks

He started waking up about 10 minutes after Dad left.

“Hey…. You okay?” I whispered nervously as he began to stir. 

The guy – Edward – shifted and muttered something that sounded a lot like “Al”. My heart jumped a bit and I spoke again.

“Are you alright?” I tried to keep my voice as calm as possible. 

“Al…” he muttered again, then his eyes shot open. “Al!” He bolted upright and looked around frantically before seeing me. Immediately, his eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

I was taken aback for a moment – he had asked the question in German. I took a deep breath and met his wary gaze, answering in the same language. “My name is Diane Swann. I found you in the middle of the road.”  _ Please believe me. Please don’t freak out.  _

He didn’t respond, merely looking around the room. He looked confusedly at the TV, the fluorescent lights, the speakers, the gas fireplace. Finally, he muttered something about “truth” in a particularly angry tone.

“Where am I, then?” 

“My house. Well, my parents’ house. Not in Amestris,” I added, bracing myself for whatever reaction he might have. 

“If I’m not in Amestris…” he trailed off. “Where, then? You don’t look Drachman, or Aerugonian… Is this Xing, then? No, you don’t look quite… Creta?” 

“No…” I held my breath for a moment, then gave a better answer. 

“None of those countries exist here. You’re in the US. I don’t know if - “

“United States? Of America?” he asked, his voice low. 

I was surprised, but I tried to stay chill. Clearly I didn’t hide it well, though, as Ed looked at me accusingly. 

“You didn’t expect me to know,” he stated, his voice monotone. “But you knew… how do you know where I’m from? Is this some kind of a joke? Did – “

“It’s not a joke,” I interrupted, looking at my hands. “I know… well, I’m not quite sure how to explain. I’m not lying, and I do know who you are. And where you’re from. But it’s complicated – “

“Define complicated.”

I winced at his tone. I was  _ so _ not equipped for this. 

“It doesn’t sound real. But it is, I promise! I know about you and Amestris and your life… I think…”

“Who do you think I am?”

“Edward Elric,” I blurted. Then, quieter, “the Fullmetal Alchemist.” 

My stupid meme-loving brain immediately added “Fullmetal Alchemist” in a slightly different intonation – at least it was silent. Hopefully. 

“How?” 

I wasn’t quite sure what to say. He hadn’t tried to attack me – yet – but I wasn’t altogether certain he wouldn’t, and I knew he was hesitant to trust me. Somehow, I got the feeling that he wasn’t going to hurt me. Something inside of me was still insisting that he was to be trusted, that he was who I thought he was – and, well, he hadn’t denied it. 

“That’s what’s complicated,” I answered, after a very long pause. “It’s not entirely… well, believable. But I’ve…”  _ read an entire comic book series, watched two cartoon series and two movies, and read a heck of a lot of fanfiction  _ didn’t feel like an adequate explanation, somehow.  _ And that’s just the tip of the iceberg… _

“You – your life – it’s a story here. I’ve… read it,”  _ to say the least. _

Ed didn’t answer. I glanced at his face, trying to read his expression, but I couldn’t get much more than a wary, but not altogether disbelieving, look. I looked back at my hands, then stood up abruptly. 

“I’ll show you,” I decided aloud. “Um… stay here. Or come with me. Either way, I guess…” I trailed off, then spun around and awkwardly made my way to my bedroom, making a very conscious effort not to collapse in on myself. I was half afraid to look behind me and see if he was following me or not, so I didn’t bother. Once I entered my room and stopped at my bookshelf, though, I glanced in my mirror and didn’t see him. That helped me relax, a little. Especially as I caught a glimpse of the cluster of FMA posters that covered a pretty big portion of my wall. It would probably be best for him  _ not _ to see that. I glanced over my manga shelves and decided to grab volume six – his backstory – and considered grabbing another, but decided against it, running back downstairs to see Ed sitting up properly on the couch, looking suspiciously at the magazines on the coffee table – the usual fare for my family; Nat Geo, some science and tech periodicals, and some manga. When I entered the living room, he looked back up at me, his eyes landing on the book I held. 

“This is… part of the story.” I looked at him awkwardly, moving closer and hesitating once I got within a few feet. After what felt like a very uncomfortable eternity, I finally realized what I was doing and handed it over. “A very small part.”

He took it and looked it over, a pained look briefly flickering on his face as he saw the images. He hid it quickly, but not particularly well. My heart skipped a beat – this was a terrible choice, that part of his past wasn’t pleasant, I should have picked something more cheerful, like the final volume, or – 

“So… is this a kid’s book or something?” he grunted incredulously. 

“Not… exactly?” I replied awkwardly. This whole situation wasn’t very comfortable. “It’s a comic book, but it’s more targeted towards teenagers and young adults. It has a pretty big audience in this world though… among those who read these kind of books.” 

Ed hummed thoughtfully and opened up to a random page.

“You read it right to left. The panels, I mean,” I said, wincing as I stumbled over my words. “It’s translated, and they don’t…” I trailed off again, not sure whether I wanted to bother continuing or not. I opted for  _ not _ continuing the word vomit and sat quietly, waiting for Ed to finish reading. Or stop reading. Another long and painful eternity passed, and then he shut the book after reading a couple pages and put it on the coffee table. The way he did reminded me of the way my family treats books – with reverence and care. I wasn’t exactly surprised, but it was something I didn’t really see in the story. Not that I  _ really  _ knew how accurate it was. 

Ed cleared his throat – I guess he was as uncomfortable with the silence as I was. 

“I guess you know who I am, then. And at least a bit about me. Who are you, then?” the way he asked wasn’t exactly the politest, but I couldn’t fault him that. And as far as I knew,  _ polite  _ wasn’t one of the words one would use in describing Edward Elric.

“Um… my name is Diane Swann. I’m a high school student… um, I’m sixteen…” I wasn’t sure what else to add and I wasn’t so sure he’d get the one paragraph Tumblr bio edition. Not that that would be particularly useful in the first place. I looked up and down silently for a moment, between my tightly clasped hands and Ed’s pensive face. 

After a while, Ed took a deep breath and plastered a grin on his face. “I guess this is a predicament, then!” he exclaimed, clearly forcing himself to sound chipper. This threw me off – I didn’t really see Ed as being the kind of person to fake emotions – especially positive ones – but I couldn’t claim to know him that well. To me, he was a fictional character. Or at least, he had been until an hour or so previous. “Any chance you’ve got something to eat, though? I’m famished!” 

That surprised me too – for a moment, at least, before I remembered  _ that _ part of his personality. The eat-everything(-except-milk) part of his personality. I forced a strained smile onto my own face and nodded. “Sure thing! There’s leftover pizza in the fridge, I’ll heat some up for you. Um… yeah. Pizza. OK!” 

I immediately bolted out of the room, very much on the brink of another panic attack. I took deep breaths, leaning against the wall near the doorway for a few moments, before moving to the fridge to grab the promised pizza, still feeling very confused and very worried. I stuck a couple slices into the microwave and was about to go grab soda before realizing – 

“Fuck!” I exclaimed, jumping and running back to the living room. “It’s in English! The book is in English! Can you even read English?” I wasn’t sure what language I was speaking, quite honestly, but apparently Ed understood whichever one it was. 

“Um… yeah. I could read it.”

I let out the breath I wasn’t aware I was holding. “Ok. Sorry. That’s all,” I carefully responded, hopefully in German that time. 

Right as I finished speaking, the microwave beeped and I spun back around to grab the pizza, conveniently hiding my embarrassed expression. Once I had managed to cool it down and grab the pizza and sodas, I went back to the living room and put the food on the coffee table. Ed dug right in without saying anything, which was probably best for me if I were honest with myself. 

Conveniently, I didn’t have to worry about initiating any conversation after he finished the food, because just as he was polishing off the plate, my Dad came inside with the result of his “errands.”

“Hey, Diane! Hey there, Ed!” he greeted, casually, as if he had previously spoken to Ed, and as if he weren’t carrying a Game Stop bag from his “important errands” rather than something even just a little more urgent. “I see introductions have gone well? Or at least without any maiming?”

“Dad! You abandoned me to go to  _ Game Stop??” _ I demanded in what was probably Japanese, though I wasn’t exactly paying attention to the language. 

“Who are you?” Ed demanded at the same time, in German – that much I could tell. The expression on his face was deadpan – apparently he’d given up on the false cheeriness after he got the food. 

“Ah, sorry!” Dad responded in the same language. “I’m Diane’s dad. Call me Kyou. Kyou Swann. And may I say, it’s very interesting to meet you, to say the least. When Diane called me from the road to tell me she found Edward Elric in the middle of the road, well, I wasn’t quite sure what kind of things people were smoking town today. But here you are!” At some point during his monologue, Dad grabbed Ed’s hand and shook it firmly. He didn’t let go, though, instead holding it to the side and narrowing his eyes at Ed’s leg. “You’ve got that automail leg, right? Always wondered how it works. You’ve got to let me take a look!”

“Hey!” Ed jerked his hand back and stuffed it roughly into his pocket. “What the hell, old man?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Dad waved it off like nothing – a particularly Dad skill. “But that’s  _ my _ pizza you’re eating under  _ my  _ roof. You’d best watch your manners, kid!” Then, he let out a laugh. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I won’t bug you about it, even though I’m absolutely  _ dying _ to know how it works. Not to mention, if I’m correct from what I’ve read, you’ll need maintenance at some point, and I’m clearly the best candidate for mechanic. I know my way around tech, at least.” 

After dad apparently shocked Ed into silence, I groaned. “Dad…”

“Yes, daughter mine?” 

I sighed. “Please chill, just a little.” 

“Aw, come on kiddo! I’m just trying to make the guy feel welcome. Leftover pizza and soda  _ can  _ only go so far.” He snickered at his own pun, and I realized there was some truth to his statement. How the  _ fuck _ was I supposed to do any good with a bit of food and a terrible explanation of my knowledge? Ed was in an entirely different  _ world,  _ with people and things he’d never seen before in his life. What the hell could I do? 

“Anyway,” Dad interrupted my spiraling anxious thoughts, “What has Diane explained to you?”

Ed looked warily at my dad, before glancing at me for a second and responding, “where I am. And how she knows about me.”

“That’s about it,” I confirmed, when Dad looked at me. I gestured to the manga Ed had put on the table. “I showed him that, but that’s it. We didn’t get that far.” 

“Well, I don’t want to interrupt that, then. You guys continue that, I’ll be in the game room with my new toy…” he waved the Game Stop bag and spun around to head downstairs. “Let me know if you need anything!”

“Dad!” I protested feebly as he left  _ way too fast,  _ leaving me alone with Edward. Again. 

The two of us were silent for a moment, before I decided to grab the plate and cans from the table, just for  _ something _ to do. Once they were disposed of, though, I was left with empty hands and nothing to say – or rather, too much to say and nowhere to start – again. 

“Your dad sure is a character,” Ed grunted, glancing at the door Dad had left through. 

“That’s true…” I chuckled. “He’s great though. He has… a lot of energy.”

Ed nodded, then looked directly at me. I stopped breathing for a moment, just trying to read the expression in his eyes as they met mine.

“I feel like I should trust you,” Ed said after a while. I was taken aback, unsure what to say. “I don’t know why. I have no idea where I am or what is going on, or why I do, but – “

“Me too,” I blurted. “I mean… I feel like I should trust you. Even though it should be impossible for you to really be here, and there’s no logical explanation, and – well. I can’t explain it, but I know that you’re… him. Edward Elric.”

After our outbursts, Ed looked away and glared at the book I on the table.  _ Fullmetal Alchemist: Volume 6.  _ “Not that I do trust you,” he grumbled. “But I want to.” 

“Well, I trust you,” I said, with as much confidence as I could muster – more than I expected to. “But I understand if you don’t trust me. You’re in a much more vulnerable position than I am, and….” I trailed off, unsure what to say. “Well, we’ll figure out what happened and get you back home,” I finished after a long pause. “This world kinda sucks. So… yeah. But... do you know what happened?”

Ed looked at me for a moment, as if deciding whether to tell me or not. There was something else in his expression, though I had no idea what it was and I didn’t bother trying to figure it out. After a while, he finally sighed and said, “I’m not exactly sure. Well, I know what happened, but not why or how…” he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate, but I could deduce that it had something to do with the Gate of Truth, since he had muttered something about that when he’d first woken up – and that seemed like the only possible way to move from a different world to this one the way he had. I didn’t want to bother trying to get any more information out of him now. 

“Well, we’ll figure it out,” I repeated, as confidently as I could. “I promise.”

I don’t know why I promised, or how I thought I would fulfill that promise, but it wasn’t as if I could take it back. Instead, I forced the most reassuring smile I could muster onto my face and made eye contact with him, trying to act like I  _ hadn’t _ just (probably) lied to his face. I mean, I’d  _ try _ , but what did I know about alchemy, or the gate, or how either of those things worked in  _ this _ world?

_ Nothing, _ I admitted to myself.  _ But I’ll figure it out. I promise.  _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mom meets the anime boy.

That evening, when mom got home from work, Dad and I tried to explain the situation. She was almost as accepting of the whole fiasco as Dad had been, though she seemed much more skeptical overall – that is, until she saw him. 

“That  _ is _ Edward Elric…” she muttered. “Huh.”

Then she turned around and went to the kitchen without another word. 

When she returned with her mug of coffee, she sat down on the chair which sat next to the couch where Ed sat.

“I’m guessing, since you appeared out of nowhere, that you don’t have a place to stay?” she asked him calmly, sipping at her mug.

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, then nodded. “I guess not.” 

“Well!” Dad grinned widely. “I guess you’ll have to stay with us, then! We’ve got a guest room.” 

Ed narrowed his eyes, then glanced at me. Unsure how to respond, I shrugged. He turned towards Dad. 

“Ok, I guess,” he grunted. “Not like I have another choice.” 

“That’s the spirit!” Dad chuckled. “Say, this is quite an unusual situation we find ourselves in.” 

“Way to state the obvious, Dad,” I groaned, rolling my eyes. I turned to Ed. “I can show you to the guest room, if you wanna take a break and stuff.” 

Edward hesitated, but then nodded. I stood and walked up the stairs, glancing over my shoulder to make sure he was following me. My parents were intently whispering between each other behind us, and I tried to ignore them. 

The guest room was at the top of the stairs, one door down. I opened the door, glanced inside, nodded, and beckoned Edward inside. 

“Here’s the guest room,” I said, waving awkwardly at it. “It’s got…. A bed.” 

Ed just grunted, then pushed past me and flopped on the bed. 

In his wrecked clothes. 

“Shit, you probably should have some clothes,” I muttered, shoving the palm of my hand against my forehead. “Um…” I glanced around aimlessly, then made some mental calculations. Ed was taller than me, shorter than Mom, but about the same height as my dad… who also weighed a bit more than Ed. Better too loose than too tight, I decided, and mumbled something else in some language or another before wandering out. 

“He needs clothes,” I said bluntly as I arrived back at the bottom of the stairs. “Dad-“ 

“I’ve got some old pajamas he can wear!” Dad chirped before I could finish. “Good thinkin’, Di.” 

I rolled my eyes as he jumped up and skipped up the stairs, re-emerging with an armful of ratty pajama pants and t-shirts. Skipping Ed’s door entirely, he hopped back down the stairs and dumped them on me. 

“Here ya go!” 

“Dad…” I sighed. “Any reason you didn’t just… give them to him?” 

Dad shrugged with a grin. “Didn’t think. Now go!” 

I rolled my eyes, hauled the pile back up the stairs, and re-entered the guest room. Ed was still flopped across the bed, but didn’t seem to be asleep yet. 

“Um…” I said, well-spoken as ever. “I have clean clothes for you. And there’s a shower in the bathroom next door,” I added, realizing just how much of a mess the alchemist was. 

Ed grumbled something, but didn’t move, so I dropped the clothes by the bed and turned to leave. 

“Thanks.” 

I turned, slightly confused. Ed was half-glaring at me. 

“Uh… no problem, dude,” I replied, and finger-gunned out of the room. I closed the door behind me and exhaled. 

“What the fuck is going on?” I muttered, shuffling down the stairs. 

I plopped down between my parents on the couch and buried my head in my hands. My dad patted me on the back. It didn’t really help. 

“How ya feelin, kiddo?” he asked. I shrugged. 

“I hit a guy with my car, kidnapped him, and found out he’s from another dimension,” I mumbled. “I don’t really know how I’m supposed to feel.” 

“Well,” Mom said, “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. In the meantime, a homeless kid showed up essentially on our doorstep. He’s welcome to stay here as long as he needs to.” 

I groaned. “I promised to help him get home, and I have no idea how.” 

“We’ll figure something out,” Dad said, chipper as ever. “If he got here, he can get back.” 

I chuckled. “That’s the spirit.” I didn’t look up. “I guess there’s not much I can do tonight. I’ll talk to him tomorrow, if he’s up to it… if my guesses are right, he’s probably gonna want some rest first.” 

I heard a door slam upstairs, and then cursing. 

“Do you think our shower is particularly intuitive to a guy from the 1910’s?” Mom hummed. 

I sighed, and stood back up. “I’ll go help.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seemed to have fixed the spacing issue, sorry about that...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed discovers cosplay. Ed gets mistaken for cosplay. Diane has a crush and everyone knows it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting towards the chapters that were actually written recently. i'm writing chapter 6 at this point and noticing marked improvement so stay tuned for Better Writing

After showing Ed our newfangled shower machine, I decided to go straight to bed. The day had been… exhausting, to say the least. 

I woke up with a sharp headache and a desperate need for a shower. I took care of the latter with a long, scalding hot bath. I decided to attach the pain with an enormous cup of coffee. 

Mom was already gone by the time I got to the kitchen - unsurprising, as it was about eleven in the morning when I finally left the bathroom. Dad was probably in his workshop, leaving the house to me. 

And Ed. 

I had avoided thinking about the unexpected guest since I woke up, but there was no more avoiding it as he shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, hair loose around his face. 

“Food,” he mumbled. 

I tried not to laugh, and instead got up and led him to the kitchen. 

“We have cereal,” he made a face - right, no milk for him. “or eggs and bacon, or whatever. Or, I guess there’s pizza.” 

“Egg,” he grunted. I nodded and got out the carton and a frying pan, setting them on the oven and gesturing to them. Ed stared, confused, at the stove. 

“Right, that’s probably new to you,” I sighed, then switched on the burner and put a little butter in the pan to melt before handing him a spatula and wandering back to my coffee. 

My phone buzzed, suddenly, where it sat on the table. I jumped, then checked it, and - “Fuck!” 

Ed grunted questioningly, and I answered the phone, walking over to the living room to take the call. 

“Diane! Where are you?? We’ve been texting the group chat for like. Hours!” 

I sighed as my friend’s voice came through the speaker. “Something happened, and I got distracted. I’ll be there in like… half an hour?” I grumbled. “Sorry dawg.” 

“No worries, yo, but I’m worried! You better spill when you get here!” 

“Right, right. Now gimme some time to change and I’ll get to the mall. We still doin’ World Trigger?” 

“God, Di, check the group chat for once. Yes!” 

“‘Kay, bye-bye friend.” 

“Bye!” 

I sighed as they hung up, then turned and walked back into the kitchen. 

“I’m meeting my friends at the mall in a half hour,” I told him. “You should probably come, so we can get you like. Human clothes.” I gestured to his baggy pajamas. 

“Whatever,” he grumbled, poking at the eggs in the pan with the spatula. “But I need something to wear until then,” he pointed out. 

“Shit, you right,” I admitted, and sighed. I glanced at my coffee. “Soon, my love,” I whispered. Ed shot me a weird look, which I probably deserved. I rolled my eyes and made my way upstairs. 

Technically, I had agreed to cosplay Chika. As the shortest in the group, it was my duty. Twenty minutes wasn’t really enough to do everything right, but I could at least throw on a little makeup and the wig before donning the costume. Luckily, my hair was dry, so I could pin it up fast enough. I rushed through the rest of the process before breaking into my parents’ room to steal more of Dad’s clothes for Ed. I didn’t really want to dig through Dad’s drawers more than I had to, so I grabbed the first jeans, belt, and shirt I could find. On my way out, I remembered Ed’s loose hair and grabbed him a hair tie from my bathroom. 

Twenty-five minutes later, because I’m a liar, I was back downstairs. Ed had finished his eggs and was dropping the dishes in the sink. 

Surprisingly polite? 

I handed him the clothes and hair tie, to which he responded with narrow eyes. 

“What the fuck is on your head?” 

I sighed. “It’s a wig, my dude. My friends and I cosplay at the mall like twice a month, and today is World Trigger day. I’ll explain on the way, just hurry and get dressed. We’re already late.” 

I heard him mumble something like “what we,” but ignored him in favor of retrieving my wallet and keys from by the door. 

Ed changed upstairs and was back down in a few minutes, tying his hair up in a low ponytail. He looked….

Ridiculously Ed-like. 

Good thing it was cosplay day. 

“Ready?” I asked. He shrugged. 

Valid. 

I led him out the door and to my car. He made a face as I showed him what a seatbelt was, but finally put it on when I explained the safety. 

Safety was ignored, however, as I sped to the mall, ten minutes late. 

“So here’s the deal,” I explained, “We cosplay. So like, we dress up as characters from shows and shit. It’s just a fun thing we do…” I trailed off, not sure whether to be embarrassed about my hobbies to a person who had no idea what they were. He didn’t respond as he stared out the window, so I decided not to bother. 

Luckily, the mall in Franklin was only a short drive from my house, and there was no traffic on a Thursday at noon. 

Ed had some trouble releasing the seat belt, featuring some generous cursing. He managed to escape, though, and I led him to the mall entrance by the Jamba Juice. I caught a glimpse of my friends by the Boba stand inside, and speedwalked through the doors. 

“Diane! You’re so laaaaaate,” whined Sissel - the one who’d called me. They were dressed as Jin, brown hair swept back. “You gotta spill, girl.” They walked up and threw an arm around my shoulders, then noticed Ed. 

“Yo, nice casual Ed, dude,” they said, winking. 

Ed grunted. I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. 

“Hot Topic finally got the new Miraculous Ladybug merch,” Anna - dressed as Osamu - said, not looking up from her phone. “We have to go there first.” 

“Um, actually Ed has to do some uh - real shopping?” I said, trying not to be too awkward about introducing him. 

“Yo, your name is Ed, too?” Mia - dressed as Yuma - piped up. 

Shit. 

“Um! It’s short for! Edwin?” It came out more as a question than a statement, and I winced. 

Ed didn’t respond, seemingly distracted by the bright display of the Boba stand. At least there was that. 

“Cool, cool,” Sissel said with a grin. Then, he spun me around and pulled me towards the line for the Boba stand. “My treat, Didi.”

I blushed and tried to ignore the flutter in my chest as my best friend bought me my favorite and turned us back towards the group. Ed raised his eyebrow at me, and I tried to pretend my face wasn’t bright red, taking a huge slurp of my boba and nearly choking on the tapioca. 

“Hot Topic?” I choked out, looking at Anna, who was giving me a knowing glance. 

Not. Blushing. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” Mia chirped, grinning. She reached out to take Anna’s hand and dragged her down the hallway towards the Hot Topic. Sissel released me to go after them, holding their boba in both hands. I hung back with Ed. 

“So - “

“Names?” he grunted. 

“Oh! Right,” I laughed awkwardly. “Um, the one with the brown hair is Sissel. They use they/them pronouns, just so you know. And then the one with the white wig is Mia, and the black wig is her girlfriend, Anna.” 

Ed nodded, nonplussed. I nodded idly. 

“So, Hot Topic is like this. Kinda goth store? At this point it’s mostly pop culture…” I trailed off. “Anyway, I don’t know that we’ll find you much there -” I cut myself off, realizing how Ed dressed in the stories I knew. “Actually, you know what, we might not have to go to another store,” I mumbled. 

Ed gave me an odd look, but didn’t respond. 

We followed the others through the mall to the group’s favorite store and entered. I was immediately drawn to the little, ever-updating Yuri on Ice display. They had a new keychain I didn’t have yet. 

“So… quick question,” Ed grumbled, looking around the shop with narrowed eyes. “What the fuck is this?” 

“Hang on, let me -” I grabbed the keychain, then led Ed to the non-fandom side of the store. “Here,” I said. “Clothes.” 

His expression didn’t change, but he seemed to gravitate towards some distressed black jeans. I don’t know what I expected. 

I turned to where Sissel was looking at a galaxy-print overall skirt (which would probably look stunning on them), and was hit with the sudden realization that clothing cost money. 

My wallet suddenly felt hot in my back pocket, and I hoped silently that my parents would help me out here. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Real Clothes acquired. Mall escaped. School?

We managed to leave Hot Topic without maxing out my credit card, which was really all I could ask for. Ed got a few pairs of pants and some shirts he thought looked cool, though he generally stayed away from the pop culture section, especially after seeing all the Fullmetal Alchemist merch in the anime area. I couldn’t really blame him. 

After leaving the store, it was pretty obvious Ed was getting antsy - again, couldn’t blame him - but I wasn’t quite sure how to escape at that point. 

“So, Ed,” Sissel said, wearing the galaxy print skirt they’d been eyeing in the shop and holding a full bag. “What’s your story? Di didn’t tell us you were coming.” 

“Sorry,” I mumbled sheepishly. It wasn’t like I had much notice. I started trying to think of a good way to explain his sudden appearance. 

“Just moved from Germany,” Ed grunted before I could say anything. 

That works. 

“Haha, yeah,” I continued awkwardly. “His family is friends with my mom, and he wanted to study over here for a bit,” I improvised. 

Ed nodded, and I breathed. 

“Cool, dawg. You got like, German squad goin’ on.” Sissel gave a thumbs-up, then rushed to catch up with Anna and Mia, who were a few yards ahead. 

“Hey.” I turned to Ed. “You doin ok?” 

He just grunted. I was beginning to get used to that. 

I sighed. “I’m sure this isn’t really like. The best situation. But Sissel gets upset when I cancel, and we had to get you clothes anyway, and…” I trailed off, fidgeting with my sleeves. “Yeah.” 

Ed shrugged, looking away. 

I suddenly felt very tired. 

“Di! It’s photoshoot tiiiiiiiime!” Sissel sing-songed from up ahead.

I sighed again, then plastered a smile on my face. “Coming!” 

We took a handful of photos before I managed to split away, insisting on helping Ed find some Real Clothes. Sissel looked vaguely annoyed - not that I expected anything else - but let me go. 

“Okay,” I breathed once I was back with him. “There’s a few clothing shops around here. I can help you find some uh. Real clothes,” I finished. Ed nodded vaguely, casting an odd look at my friends. 

“What’s the deal with the photography?” he asked, watching Sissel take shots of Anna and Mia. 

“Oh, it’s a cosplay thing,” I explained. “We take photos, and then post them online. We do videos too. It’s kinda a… weird… hobby…” I trailed off, looking away. I realized cosplay probably sounded rather ridiculous compared to alchemy and science and saving the world. 

Ed gave a low hum. 

I led him into the nearest men’s clothing store and over to the clearance section, my wallet still burning in my back pocket. My brain was swimming with half-panicked thoughts - partially about how much Sissel would be annoyed by me ditching them, but mostly over Ed. I imagined how I would feel if I showed up in a foreign world, and then got dragged out to a mall with a bunch of teenagers in dorky costumes. 

Not a great feeling. 

The anxiety swirling in my stomach switched directions. 

“Hey,” Ed spoke up. “I think I’ve got what I need.” 

I turned towards him to see his arms laden with various shirts, and winced at what they’d probably add up to. 

Thank goodness for supportive parents. 

I followed him to the checkout counter and paid, and we left the store with a ridiculous amount of bags. 

“Do you wanna get out of here?” I muttered. 

“Preferably,” Ed grumbled in response. 

I took a deep breath, then headed towards my friends. 

“Ed and I gotta head out,” I said sheepishly. Sissel frowned. 

“Already? We’ve been here, like, an hour!” they huffed. 

“My parents are expecting us,” I lied, wincing. 

“Fiiiiine,” Sissel sighed. “Next time you gotta stay all day though!” 

“I promise,” I assured them. They grinned, and grabbed me for a hug, which I melted into. “Seeya at school!” 

“Yeah!” they said, pulling away and holding me by the shoulders. “Seeya then!” 

I gave a quick hug to Anna and Mia, too, and then waved goodbye and led Ed back to the car. 

Once we were on our way back to my house, Ed spoke up. “That Sissel person is kinda an asshole.” 

I narrowed my eyes, glancing at him. “Excuse me?” 

“You guys act like really good friends, or whatever, and then they’re being an ass over you leaving.” 

“That’s just how they are,” I mumbled. “Sissel’s had a lot of friends leave them and cancel on them and stuff. They’re a good guy.” 

Ed hummed, staring out the window. 

When we got home, Dad was on the couch playing his new video game. 

“Hey there, daughter mine! Hey, Ed-o!” 

Ed nodded at him and dragged his bags upstairs. I plopped down next to my dad. 

“How was cosplay day?” he asked, pausing his game. 

“I don’t know…” I sighed for the hundredth time that day. “I mean, Ed has clothes now.” 

“Ah, good!” Dad said, smiling. “Mom and I’ll send you some money. You’re like twelve, you don’t need to handle that.” 

I breathed a sigh of relief, and then leaned further back into the couch. 

“We didn’t do much,” I continued. “Just went to Hot Topic and took a few photos. We left early.” 

“Oh?” 

“Tired.” 

Dad nodded. “This is a rather exhausting situation, huh?” 

“Ha,” I crossed my arms and glared at the TV. “That’s putting it mildly.” I glanced upstairs. “Though it’s probably worse for Ed.” 

“Definitely worse for Ed,” Dad confirmed. “But that doesn’t invalidate how you feel.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders in a half-hug. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled. 

We were silent for a moment, and then Dad said, “so, is Eddy boy goin’ to school with you? What’s his cover?” 

“Shit.” I sighed. “I guess he probably should? Or something?” I tried to imagine Ed at high school. It didn’t work. 

“Talk to him about it,” Dad said simply, and unpaused his game. I groaned, but dragged myself upstairs. 

I knocked on the guestroom door and waited. I heard the bed creak, and then Ed was opening the door. 

“Can we talk?” I asked, then hastily added, “nothing bad! Well, nothing worse than the current situation. Um. We need to figure out -” 

“Come on in,” Ed grunted. He turned around and sat down on the bed. 

I walked in and stood awkwardly, facing him. After a moment, I remembered the chair by the desk and turned it around, taking a seat. 

“So, uh…” I trailed off, trying to find the right words. “you’ll probably uh. Be here a while.” 

Ed glared at me. I put my hands up defensively. 

“Not that I don’t think you’ll make it back, or anything. I mean, if you got here, we can get you back, right?” 

Ed harumphed. 

“My point is…” I took a deep breath. “You need a cover.” 

Ed sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, I figured as much.” 

My eyebrows raised. “Oh. Um. Ok then.” I honestly should have figured that Ed, genius alchemist, would realize he had to blend in. “So… Dad and I were thinking you should go to school with me.” 

Ed looked at me, eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding.” 

“Well… not really?” Ed raised an eyebrow. “Look. People our age -” 

“You look twelve,” Ed grunted. I rolled my eyes. 

“I’m sixteen. People our age are - well, not technically legally required, anymore, but it’s generally expected that we go to school. Plus I kinda told everyone that you’re studying abroad. It doesn’t make sense to just not show up at school.” 

“Thanks for that, then,” he said, annoyed. 

“You’re welcome,” I snarked. “Anyway, it’s just school. Not like you’ll struggle with it, or anything. You’re smart.” 

Ed groaned and flopped back on the bed. “I can’t believe you’re making me go back to school.” 

“I’m not MAKING you go back to school,” I corrected awkwardly. “I’m just saying it would be… optimal.” 

“I can’t believe you’re making me go back to school.” 

I snorted. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get into Real Plot soon, I swear. Right now I'm setting up a lot of stuff I'm excited about, and trying to get into characters, especially Diane and her friends because you don't know them, lol. 
> 
> For real, I have at least 4 fics planned in this series. There will be... a lot of plot lmao. 
> 
> Hope you're enjoying!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Explaining this world, teaching Ed how to use an iPad, and dinner with the 'rents. Just an average afternoon.

School started on Monday, and we went to the mall on Thursday. That meant we (mostly I) had three and a half days to make Ed look - and act - as modern and of-this-world as possible. 

I decided to start immediately. 

“What do you know about this world?” I asked, remembering he had recognized the US. 

Ed, sitting criss-cross on the bed, hummed. “I’m mostly familiar with Germany. That’s where I’ve… landed, before.” I furrowed my eyebrows. 

“Landed?” 

“This isn’t the first time Truth has fucked me over,” he said bluntly. 

“Understandable,” I said, though I didn’t quite understand. “Are we assuming this is the exact same world?” 

“Absolutely not,” Ed replied, “but it’s the best we’ve got.” 

“Logical.” I nodded. “So, what can you tell me?” 

“When I was there…” Ed trailed off. “Germany was run by a man named Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. The year -” 

“Wait, wait,” I interrupted. I put a hand to my head. “Hang on. Nazi Germany? Did you - was there -” I dug through my brain for a moment, trying to remember the movie. “Does Shamballa mean anything to you?” 

Ed’s face darkened. “So you know that, too.” He seemed extremely uncomfortable with this. 

“Well,” I moved my hand to scratch the back of my head. “Okay, so there’s two stories, basically. The manga - the book - and the 2009 anime - uh, cartoon - have the same story, mostly. And then, there’s the 2003 anime.” Ed didn’t look too confused yet. I continued. “There’s also a movie that goes with the 2003 anime. In it, you’re in Nazi Germany, and they open up this portal to Shamballa - Amestris - and like. Invade?” 

“Sounds familiar,” Ed said. His eyes were distant. 

“Okayyyy, so what kind of timeline are we dealing with, here?” I had assumed, because of the arm, that he had come from the manga ending. Apparently not? 

Ed glared at me for a long while, then huffed. “I guess I can explain. This isn’t the first time this has happened.” He glanced out the window, at the clouds drifting by outside. “I was raised in Amestris, as you apparently know. We were fighting when I, somehow, got transported to Germany. I know that the Gate - that Truth - was involved, but I wasn’t sure how.” 

I nodded as he took a breath. 

“Then, one day I just. Wake up back in Amestris. I was a kid, too, and I hardly remembered anything. 

“I grew up again, and the same things kept happening.” He swallowed, cutting himself off. “...for a while, anyway. Then things were going… differently.” He glared at me, suddenly. “I’m not gonna spill my guts about it, so don’t fuckin’ ask.” 

“I wasn’t going to,” I lied.

“Point is,” he continued, averting his eyes, “I was dropped here after that.” He didn’t seem inclined to share much more than that, which I… somewhat understood. 

I hummed. “Okay, so we’re dealing with like. Multiple timelines.” I tapped my chin. “Then there’s definitely a way back.” 

Ed spun to look at me. “How can you be sure?” 

I forced a smile on my face. “Well, you got back once, you can do it again.” 

He stared at me for a moment, then nodded, as if resigned to the fact that my logic was absolutely perfect. No flaws there. No optimism, just objective fact. Definitely. 

I dropped the smile. “In the meantime, though, you have to survive here. So… let me explain some things.” 

I told him about the area, mostly, and about high school. I explained that we live in Franklin, Oregon - a somewhat small, but successful, town about forty-five minutes from Portland. The school, Franklin Secondary, was where we’d be going. It was one of the more wealthy schools in the area, thanks to some philanthropist or another. It ranged from sixth to twelfth grade, and we’d be going into eleventh. 

I explained a little about the time, too - the year (2018), and what had happened between WWII and Ed landing there. I thanked my lucky stars that I had studied so hard in World History the previous year. It wasn’t history class, but I did my best. 

“That explains a lot,” Ed said as I finished explaining everything, up to finding him in the middle of the road and kind of sort of hitting him with my car. 

“Yeah…” I groaned, flopping back into the guest room chair. I had been pacing across the room pretty much the whole time I’d been explaining Earth and stuff, and my feet hurt. 

“So those things you were taking photographs with are seriously phones?” 

“Yep,” I confirmed, pulling mine out of my pocket and tossing it to him. “they’re called smartphones, but hardly anyone has a dumb phone anymore. Even landlines are out of fashion at this point, mostly just businesses use ‘em.” 

He examined the phone, then tossed it back. “Okayyyy, so phones are weird now, a ‘racist tangerine’ is running the US, Germany isn’t trying to take over the world anymore, and we’re going to… high school.” He made a face. “If I hadn’t lived weirder, I’d swear this is a strange dream.” 

“I don’t blame you,” I mumbled, putting my face in my hands. “This is… pretty weird for me, too.” I looked up at him. “Probably weirder for you, though.” 

“Not like it matters,” Ed huffed. “It is what it is.” 

“That’s the spirit.” I put up a fist weakly. 

We sat there for a moment, then Ed spoke up. 

“So what the fuck are you learning in school at this point? If you’re actually 16, haven’t you basically gotten all the basics down years ago?” 

I thought for a moment. Ed had stopped going to formal school when he was ten or so. Of course it would be odd to him. 

“Um… well,” I began, “I don’t know when it happened, exactly. But public schooling, at least here, is generally intended to prepare you to go on to, like, college? I mean, some people go to trade school, and there’s still a handful of apprenticeships available for like, electricians. But the point is for us to go -” 

“To more school?” Ed narrowed his eyes. “Sounds ridiculous. Is everyone supposed to just keep going to school forever?” 

“Well, a lot of people kind of do think that the emphasis put on college and stuff is like. Too much? But most jobs require a degree at this point, so most everyone at least goes to community college for a few years.” 

“Huh.” 

I ran a hand through my hair, thinking. “Um, I’m actually kind of curious. How much school was - uh, is? - around in Amestris?” 

Ed frowned. I was about to add that he didn’t have to answer, but he replied, “Public mandatory schooling goes from age five to age ten. Then there’s private secondary schools and military schools. But really, if you’re not going to be a politician or a military dog, there’s really no point in those.” 

“What about doctors and scientists?” 

“Apprenticeships,” he answered simply, shrugging. 

I hummed. I got the feeling that this would be the first of many differences in our upbringings. 

“Well, I guess it’ll be a different experience?” I sighed. “Regardless, we need something of a cover for you, like I said before. School’s the best option.” 

Ed groaned and flopped back on the bed. “Fiiiiine. But you’d better be helping me with finding a way back.” He lifted his head to glare at me. 

I blinked. I had promised to help him, but I could help but feel a little flattered that he actually  _ wanted  _ my help. 

“Not that I need your help,” he grunted, letting his head fall back on the bed. “I just know fuck-all about this world. If it’s anything like the world I was in when I stayed in Germany, alchemy doesn’t work properly.” 

I smirked. “So, you need my help.” 

Ed huffed. I laughed. 

We sat there for a minute before I took a deep breath, pushed myself up, and headed for my room. “Be right back,” I threw back over my shoulder. 

In my room, I grabbed my tablet and computer. I figured Ed could learn to use one of them. 

When I returned to the guest room, I tossed my tablet onto the bed. 

“Password’s 6969. Anna set it, don’t say a word.” 

Ed just sat up and sent me a perplexed look. Oh my god. Did they not have The Number where he came from? 

...or did he just have no idea what a tablet was? 

I sighed and picked up the tablet again, flipping open the galaxy-print case, and pressed the home button. “See, you press this to turn it on. These numbers pop up.” I gestured to the screen. “You just tap ‘em.” I typed in the password.

An AO3 page popped up. I pressed the home button immediately and hoped he hadn’t noticed - not that he’d probably know what it was. 

“So I told you about the internet,” I said. Ed nodded, still looking rather perplexed. I pushed on. “Ok, so you can access the internet with a few different kinds of devices, like this laptop or tablet.” I gestured to each one. Ed nodded again. “You access the internet using a browser.” I eyed Google Chrome, knowing what awaited me there. I mentally prepared myself to create a new tab as fast as humanly possible. 

No time to read the fic title. Success. 

Once the new tab was open, I tapped the search bar and handed it to Ed. “Search anything.” 

Ed narrowed his eyes at the keyboard, then slowly tapped in letters one by one. Once he’d finished typing “alchemy,” he looked at me. I hit the search button, and the page loaded. 

“There’s your results!” I explained, pointing at the seemingly endless list. Ed’s eyes widened as he read. 

The first was a definition. 

“Forerunner?” Ed said, accusingly, as if I had written the definition just to spite him. “Supposed? Converting base metals to gold? And - magical, seriously? Where is this definition even coming from?” 

“A dictionary,” I responded. “And, need I remind you, this isn’t Amestris. No one who hasn’t read or seen your story is going to know the definition you do.” I scrolled down the screen. “Here, click this one…” 

He just stared at the screen. 

“Right, uh…” I tapped the Wikipedia result. “Here,” I said as the page loaded. “This is wikipedia. It’s basically like… a really big encyclopedia, that anyone can edit. So, it’s not the most reliable source, but it has its own sources and it’s a good place to get a basic understanding of things. If you wanna learn about alchemy in this world, start here.” I stood up, pushing the tablet completely into Ed’s hands. “Tap to click on something - links are usually blue? They’ll get you to another page. Scroll down - uh, move the screen - ” I corrected, seeing Ed’s confusion again, “ - by dragging your finger. Um. I think that’s enough for now.” I grabbed my laptop off the chair, hesitated, then decided that Ed probably would need more help with the tablet. I plopped down next to him, sat cross-legged, and opened the laptop. 

As Ed read, looking both perplexed and transfixed, I opened my own search tab, thought for a moment, and typed, “philosopher’s stone.” 

As I went on my own Wikipedia Adventure, while I skimmed the main article for pictures and easily-digestible-for-an-average-16-year-old tidbits, I came upon what Wikipedia claimed was the symbol for the philosopher’s stone. It was a circle, surrounded by a square, surrounded by a triangle, surrounded by another circle. 

Something about it though, seemed… familiar. 

Like deja-vu. 

I showed it to Edward. “Hey… does this seem familiar to you?” 

Ed’s brow furrowed. “Yeah…” he muttered. Louder, he said, “I remember seeing it somewhere. Not sure where, but I think I saw it somewhere in Germany.”

I felt something - like a dull knock - inside my chest. I rubbed at it with my hand, and Ed mirrored my motions. I shot him a strange look. 

“What?” he grumbled. 

I said nothing, instead turning back to my research. 

Only minutes later, I was poking Ed in the arm, mouth open. 

“Hey!” he snapped, then narrowed his eyes at where I was pointing.

_ The 16th-century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim)... _

“That damn bastard,” Ed hissed. 

“Do you think it’s really him?” 

“No idea, but if it is… well, either way, honestly, we might have a lead.”

I dared to have a little hope. 

I kept reading for a while, noticing parallels that made my chest keep knocking - “alkahest” was most notable, nearly knocking the wind out of me. I wheezed, and it was Ed’s turn to shoot me a strange look as he rubbed at his chest. 

The more I read, the more words seemed to swim in my vision. I blinked and shook my head, then there was a knock on the open door. 

“Hey, dinner’s ready, kids,” my mom announced, leaning on the door frame. 

“Oh!” I exclaimed, jumping up. I shut the laptop and dropped it behind me on the bed. “Thanks, Mom!” 

She smiled and turned around, making her way back downstairs. I turned to Ed, who was completely absorbed in whatever he was reading, now. 

“Ed.” 

He didn’t respond. 

“Edward.” 

Nothing. 

I sighed, then snatched the tablet out of his hands. His head snapped up to glare at me. 

“It’s dinner time,” I said simply, shutting off the tablet and tossing it on the bed next to the laptop. 

Ed looked to be about to argue, but his stomach growled just in time to stop him. He huffed and stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

“Find anything good?” I asked, leading him out of the guest room and down the stairs. 

“Yeah, found a book. Do we have access to a library, or - “ 

“Boy, we have access to, like, five within a fifteen minute drive,” I replied, “libraries are pretty big these days. But what book is it? We might be able to find a .pdf?” 

Ed opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by dad dropping a stack of plates in his arms as we were about to pass the kitchen. 

“Time to set the table, kids!” he sang, spinning around to get something from the kitchen. 

“I’m not a tiny kid!” Ed grumbled, dragging his feet towards the table. I giggled.

“Grab silverware, Diane,” Mom requested. I nodded and did as she asked. 

“What’s a .pdf?” Ed asked as I approached the table. 

“Oh, yeah. Uh, it stands for portable document format. It’s basically a non-editable file on a computer.” Ed looked at me blankly. “Oh. Um, it’s a book on a device.” He nodded. 

We finished setting the table, and Ed told me the name of the book - “Modern Alchemy, Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory.” 

“I don’t really understand where occultism comes into it,” he said, setting cups out by the plates. “But atomic theory is probably the best place to start. Rearranging atoms is what alchemy is.”

I nodded. “Well, I don’t know much about atomic theory,” I replied, “but I’m registered for a chemistry class this year… oh, shit.” 

“What?” 

“We’ve gotta get you registered for classes.”

Ed made a face. “Do we have to?” 

“Sure we do, Eddy!” Dad chimed in, carrying a pot of pasta. “How else are we gonna have you, mister teenager-from-an-anime, blend in?” 

The teenager from an anime grunted, practically slamming down the fourth cup. 

“Moody,” Dad stage-whispered. I laughed. Ed groaned. 

Dinner was relatively silent - Dad makes ridiculously good pasta. Ed finished first, immediately asking for seconds. He seemed to be practically starving - which made sense, considering the circumstances. 

Once he finished his seconds - around the same time I was cleaning up my firsts - Ed grabbed my wrist and started dragging me upstairs. 

“Whoa, there!” Mom said, at the same time I exclaimed, “hey!”

“Dish duty~” Dad sing-songed, grabbing his and Mom’s plates and carrying them to the sink. “anime boys don’t eat for free in this house.” 

Ed grumbled and dropped my arm, storming over to the sink. I followed him, rubbing my wrist and rolling my eyes. 

My arm felt warm where he’d grabbed me. 

“You wash,” I said, “I’ll dry and put away. You don’t know where anything is,” I added as Ed looked about to argue. 

“Fine,” he grumbled. 

As he started on the dishes and I grabbed a towel, I asked him about the book. 

“It looks like more history than science,” Ed said, scrubbing at the pasta pot. “But it’s the only book I could find that discusses alchemy alongside whatever this world’s science - “

“Chemistry,” I supplied. 

He shrugged. “Alongside chemistry, then.”

“Maybe this year’s classes will help, then,” I replied. “I’m taking AP Chemistry, so you probably should too. I don’t know how much my other classes will help, actually…” I trailed off. 

“Whatever. School is unnecessary anyway.” 

I rolled my eyes, taking a rinsed pot from his hand and drying it off. 

“Those dishes can go in the dishwasher,” I said as he picked up one of the plates to wash. He sent me a perplexed look. 

He had… a lot to learn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter wasn't particularly exciting, but I hope some of this sweet sweet plot setup is good for you. 
> 
> The book I mentioned is real, by the way. I'm reading it for reference.
> 
> All the wikipedia stuff is real, too. Including Hohenheim. We'll be seeing more of good ol' dad. 
> 
> Comments appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diane regrets her interior decorating. Dad helps get ready for school. New Stationary. Ed has feelings and doesn't like them.

After dinner, we did more research. I was able to find Ed a .pdf of the book he found, which he immediately started devouring. I started looking up more on atomic theory, which made my head spin. After a few minutes of that, Ed asked for something to take notes in, and I figured that might help me, too. I got one of my stash of notebooks - one of the more benign, less anime-themed ones - and a pen for each of us. 

We ended up there, researching and taking notes, until around eleven at night, when my yawns got closer and closer together - and started distracting Edward. 

“Go to bed,” he snapped, after a particularly large yawn. 

“Fine!” I huffed, closing my laptop and notebook and tucking them under my arm. Getting up took a bit of effort, as my legs had pretty much frozen in place, criss-cross applesauce, but I managed to hobble out of the room, across the hall, and into mine. 

I briefly thought that I should bring him the charger cord, but decided against it in favor of throwing off what remained of my cosplay, donning some comfy jammies, and dropping in bed. 

 

\-----

 

“It died.” 

I blinked, vision blurry with sleep. “Wha-” 

“The thing died.” 

I forced myself upright, turning to the source of the voice - right. An anime boy lived here now. 

“Yeah, it’s out of battery,” I explained, holding back a yawn. 

“I didn’t even use it that much,” Ed whined. “I passed out last night and woke up and figured out how to turn it… back…” he trailed off, staring at something. I followed his gaze. 

Right to the giant poster of a half-shirtless, mid-fight Edward Elric that I had hanging on my wall. 

I jumped out of bed and tried to block the poster with my tiny body. “I have a charger for it,” I squeaked. 

Ed blinked. Nodded slowly. Turned and walked out of the room. 

I released a breath I didn’t realized I had been holding. Then, in a near frenzy, I tore down every Fullmetal Alchemist-themed poster, toy, plushie, and collectible I had. 

Except for my Black Hayate plushie. No one touches the Black Hayate plushie. 

(I did pause at the Edward Elric figurine that Sissel had given me, but put it in the back of my closet with the rest of it.) 

After hiding my shame, I checked my phone. 

Tragically, it was a reasonable time to get up. I sighed, then resigned myself to showering and changing like a normal human being. 

Once I was dressed, I dragged myself downstairs to drown my sorrows in coffee. My parents had, apparently, already made a pot. I very nearly just downed the pot, but decided to be civilized and actually get a mug. 

“Morning Diane!” Dad chirped. 

“Mmmmhm,” I groaned. 

“Have you seen Ed this morning? He hasn’t come down yet, but I thought I heard him upstairs.” 

The blood either rushed into or away from my face - I couldn’t entirely tell. “You know that giant Edward Elric poster I have in my room?” I asked, voice cracking. 

“Oh my god,” Dad chuckled. “He saw it, huh?” 

I let out something between a groan and a whine and put my head in my hands. My dad laughed. Loudly. 

With perfect timing, Ed came down the stairs and made a beeline for the coffee machine. I tried to calm my either very pale or very red face, drinking my coffee a little too fast to cover my shame and choking on it. 

“Hey Ed,” Dad said, grinning in a way I really did not like. “So, Diane told you about the anime and all that, I presume?” He nodded from the kitchen, where he was opening every cupboard except the one with the mugs in it. “Well, did she tell you about the fans?” 

“Father, please,” I pleaded, my voice far too high. 

Ed froze where he was in the kitchen. “...not really?” He sounded like he was bracing himself for horrible news - which, honestly, he probably was. 

“You’re pretty popular, blondie,” he sang, looking directly at me. 

Ed was silent for a moment, then simply said, “where are the coffee mugs?” 

Dad laughed again, then pointed at the cupboard Ed hadn’t checked. Ed scowled and pulled one down. 

“My life is over,” I grumbled, only loud enough for Dad to hear. “You’ve ruined me.” 

Dad just smirked. “Anyway,” he said, “today’s school shopping day!” 

I removed my hands from my face and sat up straight, grinning. 

School shopping day meant  _ notebooks _ . School shopping day meant  _ pens.  _ School shopping day meant - well, a chance to be a huge nerd and have my parents pay for it. 

Ed just looked confused. “School shopping? I just got clothes.” 

“Like, supplies!” I explained excitedly. “Notebooks and pens and highlighters and - “

“Yep!” Dad interjected. “We’re leaving after breakfast. I have coupons!” 

Ed looked less confused now, but by no means excited. He took a sip of coffee from where he stood by the counter, made an intrigued face, and took another sip. 

“What is in this stuff?” he asked - well, demanded, really. 

“Hazelnut!” Dad chirped. 

Ed narrowed his eyes, then took a bigger sip. “Good shit.” 

“I know, right?” Dad grinned. “Diane’s mom likes the vanilla bean stuff, but me and Diane are into that hazelnutty goodness.You’ll have to try the vanilla tomorrow or something.” 

I smiled and went to get a refill of my own coffee. 

Thankfully, my shame seemed to have been forgotten, at least for now. 

“Alrighty,” Dad said as I poured another cup into my Hufflepuff mug. “So I’m thinking Daiso first, of course. Then Freddy’s, then - “ he turned to me and winked, “ - The Stationary Corner.” 

“No way!” I exclaimed, far too excited about this, probably. “Really?” 

“Guess who got a rewards coupon!” He waved his phone at me. “You buy way too much stuff there, seriously.” 

“Impossible,” I sniffed. “One can never have enough stationary.” 

“What do we need stationary for?” Ed huffed. 

“For school!” I answered, exasperated. “How can I be expected to do my homework with ten-cent pens and notebooks? They smudge and bleed and - “

“I think he gets it, Diane,” Dad chuckled. The look Ed shot me made it clear that he absolutely did  _ not _ get it. 

I rolled my eyes, grabbed my coffee mug, and returned to the table - though not before making a detour to the sugary cereal. Dad’s raisin bran was already on the table, along with the milk, but I felt like treating myself. 

As I poured myself a bowl of cereal and milk, Ed shot me a horrified look. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he practically screeched. 

“Making myself a bowl of cereal?” I replied, dumbfounded. Then I saw what, exactly, Ed was looking at. “Oh,” I continued, somewhat amused. “Right. You don’t like milk.” 

“It’s disgusting!” Ed snapped. 

“Then make yourself some toast or something,” I responded. “I will have my sugary goodness to myself.” 

Ed leveled a glare at me, then reached across the table, grabbed the box of cereal, and - 

My dad laughed. I stared, mouth agape, as Edward Elric reached a hand in and scooped an enormous handful of sugary cereal out of the box, which he immediately shoved into his mouth. 

“Mish ishn’ bad,” he said around the cereal, little pieces falling out and onto his lap as he leaned back in his chair.    
Dad seemed to be unable to stop giggling. I shut my mouth. 

“Respect,” I said, nodding once. I took a bite of my cereal. 

 

\-----

 

Many hours later, we returned home, arms laden with bags. I had a quite impressive haul from The Stationary Corner, along with a reusable grocery bag full of drinks and snacks from Daiso - of which I was permitted one a day of each - a rule that, in my opinion, was made to be broken.

After a while, Ed even got into it - picking out some fancy fountain pens and bound notebooks at the stationary store, which he seemed significantly more familiar with than the array of ballpoints, gel pens, and spiral-bound books at the other stores. 

Dad also surprised me with a new calculator upgrade for Calculus class that I was way too excited about. He grabbed Ed one as well, utilizing one of his many treasured rewards coupons for it - “You’ll need it for whatever math you take,” he’d said, “besides, I have a coupon.” 

Ed didn’t seem to know what it was, which didn’t surprise me, but grumbled a “thank you” and added it to his stack in the cart. 

Now, apparently, among the stacks of bags on the kitchen table, it was time to register Edward for classes. 

“Let’s just assume you know enough about science to do Chemistry with Diane,” Dad said. “Now, how much math do you know?” 

“Uh…” Ed furrowed his brow. “I mean, I know what I need to know. Arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, a little bit of calculus - “

“Okay, first of all,” I interrupted, “how do those have all the same names here?” Ed gave me a blank look. “...ok. Anyway, what do you need trigonometry and calculus for?” 

“Alchemy,” he said simply, shrugging. 

“...valid,” I sighed. “Ok, I’m guessing he’ll be fine in AP calculus with me?” 

“Probably,” Dad hummed. “OK, how about US history? He knows… basically nothing, right?” 

“He knows what I know,” I replied. “So… basically nothing.” 

“Let’s just throw him in with you again, then,” Dad chuckled. “Actually, I bet we can get you in all the same classes if we keep up this foreign exchange ruse you’ve told me about.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

“Uh - “ I started. 

“That’s fine,” Ed grunted. “I don’t care.” 

“Alrighty, then!” Dad clapped his hands together, typed on his laptop for a moment, then glanced back at Ed, trying unsuccessfully to hide his smile. “Even jazz choir?” 

I tried not to laugh as Ed narrowed his eyes. “Absolutely not.” 

“Alright, if you insist…” Dad chuckled, typing a little more and then leaning back in his chair. “Ok, you’re all registered. With luck, your schedules will match up along with the classes - but we won’t know until you get your schedules on day one.” 

Ed nodded, arms folded on the table. “Fine.” 

There was silence for a few moments, and then I cleared my throat and stood up. “I’m going to go put my backpack together because I’m a huuuuuge nerd,” I announced, grabbing as many bags as I could. “Bye-bye.” 

“Bye-bye!” Dad waved as I walked up the stairs, arms full of supplies. 

I shut my door after me, leaning back against it for a moment. As much as part of me loved having Ed (EDWARD? ELRIC?) around, most of me was still processing, and a moment alone was a respite. 

I wasn’t a liar, though. I dumped the supplies on my bed and began to sort through them. 

I was halfway through filling up my new fountain pen when there was a knock on my door. I took a deep breath, held it for five seconds, and let it out slowly. “Come in,” I sighed. 

Ed poked his head inside, glancing at the wall (now devoid of giant posters of him shirtless) and then back at me. He narrowed his eyes at my stationary pile.    
“You’re seriously…” he rolled his eyes. “Never mind. Can we talk?”    
I scooted over in my bed and patted the spot next to me. He came in, closed the door, and plopped down.    
“First of all,” Ed started, glaring at the pile of school supplies in front of us, “Dreams mean nothing.” 

“Oooooooooh-kay?” I raised one eyebrow. “And this has to do with…?” 

“I had a weird dream tonight,” he continued, staring holes in my notebooks. “Uh, last night. I was in Risembool. Winry and Al were there. Pinako was there… Mom was there. And you and your parents were there, too? But like, we - you and me and Winry and Al - we were all kids.”    
My heart did a weird thing in my chest, and I rubbed at it. “Huh. That’s… I mean - “

“And I know that dreams are just our subconscious thoughts and the brain processing things,” Ed continued, interrupting me. “But this feels weird. Like how I  _ feel _ like I should trust you, for some reason. It felt real.” 

I was silent. I didn’t exactly have a way to respond to an anime character coming into my room, telling me about the dream he had, and then talking about his feelings. 

Ed turned to glare at me. “I felt like I should talk to you about this, and I know to trust my instincts. But I don’t talk about feelings, so don’t expect this to become a regular thing.” He huffed and turned back to glaring at my school supplies. 

“No worries, my dude,” I said, after a while. I shifted to turn to him, though he was adamantly refusing to meet my eyes. “Sometimes you gotta talk about stuff. And, I mean, I know you’re going through a lot right now.” Kind of an understatement. “But hey, if you’re stuck with me, I might as well be here for you, ya know?” I sighed. “And hey, if it makes you feel any better, this whole situation is giving me all sorts of weird feelings. And I’m sure it’s way worse for you, obviously, but like… you’ve got someone, is my point.” 

Ed just kept staring at my bed, then coughed and stood up. “I’m gonna, uh. Study.” 

I nodded. “Let me know if you want help, but I’ve gotta organize these puppies.”

He turned to me, eyes narrowed. “You’re really, really weird.” 

“Sure, nerd.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait and the kinda eclectic chapter. i really wanna get to the Good Stuff... ((cough book 2 cough))


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weird dream. Family meeting. Prepping for school. Good Dad.

I woke up on the ground, grass tickling my legs below the periwinkle sundress I wore, brushing my arms, tangling with my too-short hair. 

My hand drifted up, floating in front of the clouds lazily crawling through the sky. 

“Dinner time!” 

I sat up abruptly, and next to me, he did too. Our friend approached us, hands on her hips, her blonde bob blowing to the side in the wind. 

“How come you guys are up here all the time? You’re not even doing anything.” 

He stood up, brushing off his pants. “Sure we are, maybe you’re just too busy being an automail geek to get it.” 

I rolled my eyes. “It’s nice to lay out here, Winry.” 

“Invite me next time, then.”

“And we were talking about alchemy,” I continued.

She stuck her tongue out, then grinned. “Come on, nerds, food’ll get cold. Or Al will eat all the stew.” 

“Fine, we’re coming,” he grumbled. He held out a hand to help me up, which I accepted, brushing off my dress when I was up. 

I woke up in my bed, and there were tears in my eyes, and a hole in my chest. I blinked. 

\----------

The next few days were a blur. I did my best to catch Ed up on existing in 2018, and we both did our best to find whatever we could on alchemy in whatever spare time we had. (Ed had a much easier time of this than I did - I learned better from practice and discussion, while he devoured books like unlimited pasta at Olive Garden.) 

The day before school - Sunday - Dad and Mom called a family meeting. 

“Bring Ed, too,” Mom said, heading into the living room. 

I ran upstairs and opened the guest room door - Ed was flopped on the bed, reading another PDF on the tablet. He didn’t look up. 

“Hey, family meeting downstairs. You’re invited,” I announced, leaning against the door frame. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t respond. I walked up and took the tablet, rolling my eyes at his immediate glare. “Dude. Come on.”

“I was reading.” 

“I could tell. Family meeting downstairs.” 

He looked confused, but followed me down to the living room. Mom and Dad were already sitting in their chairs, and Dad grinned at us. 

“Hey kids! So, school’s starting tomorrow. We gotta go over what’s goin’ down.” 

I nodded, and Ed made a grumpy face - though it wasn’t much difference from his usual expression. 

“We’ve got you registered as Edwin Klein,” Mom started, ignoring Ed’s obvious twitch at the last name. “Your classes are the same as Diane’s, except zero period you have free. Di knows her way around the school, so just follow her lead and you should be fine.” 

Dad nodded. “Now, if you need any help with school, come to us,” he said, looking at Ed. “You’re new here. I don’t expect you to get everything immediately, genius kid or not.” 

Ed huffed. “I still think this is stupid,” he grumbled. “I’d be better off just figuring out a way to get home.” 

“This… might actually help you,” Mom pointed out. Ed raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you get stuck here long term,” she continued, “even for a couple years, you could have access to college resources. And… well, if you don’t find a way home - “

“I will,” Ed interrupted. “I’ve done it before, I can do it again.” 

Mom and Dad shared a look, then Dad spoke up. “Well, we support you in that. But it’s important to have a back-up plan.” His smile fell for a moment before returning in full force. “But hey! Make the most of the time you’re here. Maybe you’ll like it!” 

Ed grunted, glaring at the wall. 

I felt like I should reach out, but my common sense beat out the instinct. Instead, I just said, “We need a cover for you. And while you’re here, I mean… yeah. Dad’s right. Might as well try to like. Do things?” I sighed and closed my eyes. “I don’t know, man. I don’t even have this whole living thing figured out, myself.”

“And we barely do,” Dad added. His face softened. “Look, kid, things are all messed up for you right now. But you’ve got at least three people on your side, got it? You got a family here, whether you like it or not. We latch on quick.” 

Ed grumbled something, arms folded. 

Mom checked her phone and nodded. “Alright, we’ll have to leave that short. I have a meeting.” She leaned over to kiss Dad, smiled, stood, nodded at Ed and me, and walked out of the living room. Dad smiled after her. 

“You guys are gross,” I said teasingly, sticking my tongue out. Dad stuck his out back, then laughed.    
“Yeah we are. You should be used to it after 16 years, daughter mine.” 

“Probably,” I chuckled. I turned to Ed. “Hey, are you all set up for tomorrow, dude?” 

“What do you mean?” he asked, eyes narrowed. 

I laughed. “You know, like, are you ready to go to school?” 

He made a face. “Absolutely not.” 

“Well, we leave at 6:20 tomorrow.”

“In the morning?” Ed exclaimed, “Like, AM?” 

“Yeah, dummy. I have zero period and I’m your ride.” I started walking towards the stairs, then turned back to face him. “So, are you gonna let me help you get ready, or…?” 

Ed grumbled, but followed me up. 

We got to the guest room, which Ed had sort of started making his own - mostly by leaving clothes overflowing a single drawer of the dresser and a few half-full notebooks strewn across the desk and bed. His school supplies were in a pile at the base of the bed. 

“Well, we should start with that,” I chuckled, gesturing at the pile. “You haven’t put your backpack together yet? Seriously?” 

“What am I supposed to do with all this shit?” Ed huffed, plopping down on the bed and glaring at the supplies. “Don’t I just need, like, a textbook?” 

“Wow, yeah, no,” I shook my head and sat down in front of the pile, reaching out to grab the plain black backpack that sat on top. It was completely empty and the tag was still attached, so I ripped that off. “High school is a little more intense than just a Dick and Jane book, my guy.” I reached into the pile and grabbed the binder, opening it up. I made a face as I looked at how un-color-coordinated all Ed’s school supplies were, but grabbed the paper and dividers from the pile to fill it up. “We’re in mostly AP classes. That’s college level. Now, you’re some kind of genius, so you should be fine, but you can’t just, like. Take this lightly.” 

“Watch me,” I heard him mumble under his breath. I rolled my eyes. 

“Look,” I said, “I know you don’t care that much about this. But my parents had a point… this could be useful.” He looked at me disbelievingly. “No, seriously. We’re taking AP chemistry. My science teacher last year said that’s, like, the most intensive AP class there is. And it’s all about molecules and stuff - it’s this world’s alchemy, man. Not to mention, you’ll be flying under the radar and settling in here for as long as you need to be.”

He glowered. I sighed. 

“We’ll get you out of here,” I promised. “But for now, you are here. And you have to deal with that. Trust me, I don’t like it here either,” I half-joked. 

“Why?” Ed asked. 

I stilled. That was… a hard question to answer. I’d never felt right here, but that was such a vague, amorphous answer that it didn’t feel enough.

“Well…” I took a deep breath. “This country is run by people who want me dead, for one thing. That’s scary.” I clipped the binder shut and pulled a ridiculously green pencil case from the pile, avoiding Ed’s gaze. “School does kind of suck. I don’t feel like I have much of a future. The world is getting hotter. The chemicals in my brain don’t work right. There’s plenty of reasons.” 

I cursed my honesty. He probably didn’t actually care. 

“You’ve got cool technology, at least,” he said, as if I hadn’t gotten Super Real. 

“You got that right,” I replied, shaking off the Real Moment. “I should show you VR.” 

We were silent for a moment as I organized pens and pencils, then I spoke up, not entirely intentionally. 

“What was Risembool like?”

I don’t know why I asked it. Well, I know why I wanted to. The dream I’d had was eerily familiar, but somehow… still, way to make Ed feel worse. Just remind him how he’s not home right now. 

“It was a farm town,” Ed grunted, falling back on the bed. “Lots of sheep.” 

“Nice,” I replied. “Sheep are chill.” 

“There were these hills,” he continued. “Around my house.” 

I remembered my dream. I’d seen those hills. I’d been there with Ed, lying in the grass, talking about - 

“...i guess,” he finished. Oh. I’d stopped paying attention. I nodded absently to pretend like I hadn’t. 

I felt like I should say something, but I decided against it in favor of neatly placing the binder, some composition notebooks, a calculator, and the pencil case inside the backpack. 

_ Ed talked to you about his dream,  _ a voice in my head said. I ignored it in favor of not being an annoying loser (as if I hadn’t been already). 

“Ok,” I said at last, holding up his backpack. “Here’s your backpack. You’ve got everything you need to get started, I think.” 

Ed sat up, reaching out to take the bag. I handed it over. 

“Usually, we’d need to make lunches for tomorrow at this point,” I explained as he looked in the bag, sorting through the supplies. “But Dad always makes lunches the first day of school, as a treat. He said he’d make you one, too.” 

“Wait, lunches? We eat at school?” Ed looked at me strangely, zipping up the bag. 

“What, did you not stay for lunches?” 

“No way. We had school in the afternoon, so we could help with chores and shit.” 

“Oh, that makes sense, I guess.” I stood up and leaned against the wall. “Well, we have school from around 8 to around 3. Not including zero period or extracurriculars. Lunch happens in the middle of the day, like 11 or 12. Depending on which lunch you get.” 

“Why are you making me do this?” Ed groaned. 

“Technically, I’m not. I mean, the government kind of is. And like. Necessity.” 

Ed grumbled something at the backpack, which I didn’t bother trying to hear. I smiled. 

“Well, we leave early tomorrow. Get some sleep. I’ll drag you out of bed if you’re not up in time.” 

He didn’t respond, instead falling back onto the bed. I rolled my eyes and went back downstairs. 

Dad was in the kitchen, rolling out cinnamon rolls - another first day of school tradition. 

“Hey, kiddo,” he greeted, putting down the rolling pin and turning to me. 

“Hey, Dad.” 

“What’s up?”

I took a deep breath and jumped up to sit on the unused counter. “This shouldn’t feel real, right?” 

Dad hummed. “Probably not. But we haven’t woken up yet, so…” 

“Yeah…” I rubbed at my arms. “I guess not.” 

“What’s eating ya, Di?” 

I met my dad’s eyes. He was smiling softly at me, like he always did when he asked me what was wrong. 

“I had this dream,” I mumbled, looking down. “It wasn’t that weird, I guess. It just felt really… real.” 

“Oh?”

“Well… I’m pretty sure it was in Risembool. Like. Amestris. And I was lying there, on this hill, with Ed, I guess? And then Winry showed up. And I don’t know why this matters so much to me, but - “

“Hey,” Dad said, softly. “It does. That’s valid.” He leaned back against the counter. “I know that you don’t really like it here, and escaping to things is how you cope. So maybe, Ed showing up is just… encouraging that?” He smiled a little wider. “Or hey, maybe you’re destined to be togeth-” 

“Ok, ok, I get it,” I cut him off, trying to ignore the blush I felt burning on my face. “I am still getting used to my previously-thought-to-be-fictional crush actually being here.” 

“And I will keep teasing you about it,” Dad said, winking. 

I groaned exaggeratedly, and hopped down. “I’m gonna… bed.” 

“Good plan.” Dad walked over, brushing his flour-covered hands off on his apron so he could ruffle my hair. “Hey, you good to go back to school tomorrow?” 

“I better be,” I chuckled. 

“You let us know if anyone gives you any trouble, got it?” 

I looked away. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Diane.” 

I looked back at my dad. He looked worried. My stomach twisted. 

“We’re here for you. You don’t have to just deal with things.” 

I shrugged and started walking up the stairs. 

“Love you, Diane.” 

“Love you, Dad.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there wasnt much this chapter i decided to make the first day at school a separate chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it! kudos/comments/shares/bookmarks/subs appreciated. Feel free to follow my tumblr or Twitter at briarthedragon


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